In addition to being a wonderful and quirky place where you can get on a plane that will take you to dozens of destinations all over the U.S. and beyond, Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport is also an unexpected spot where locals—even people who aren’t going anywhere—can do things like grab a meal, donate blood, and do a little shopping.

As far as the shopping goes, MKE’s Main Terminal is home to a wide range of different stores where travelers and Cream City consumers alike can stock up on provisions, grab some gifts, and kill a little time before their flight. In an effort to see how far Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport could take us in terms of shopping potential, two Milwaukee Record writers went to the Main Terminal with a $50 shopping budget (including tax, NOT factoring in parking). Here’s what we bought.

TYLER’S PURCHASES

**Used hardcover copy of The Last Voyage Of The Lusitania — Renaissance Books ($10.79)**

Being a “Mandatory Milwaukee”-worthy local treasure and an airport terminal tenant since 1979, I was obviously going to be getting something from Renaissance Books on this semi-strict shopping spree. After 10-15 minutes of browsing, I finally settled on my chosen piece of literature.

As I ease into becoming a dork in my early 40s, I’ve suddenly recognized the appeal of nonfiction books about maritime disasters. So when I saw a used copy of The Last Voyage Of The Lusitania in nice condition with a $10 price tag, I knew I had my next backyard book I could knock out in a weekend. After tax, I was $10.79 in and had $39.21 left. Oh, and we’re not factoring parking cost into this, but I should mention my Renaissance purchase came with parking validation, which wiped all $4 off my parking costs.

Shirt — PGA Tour Shop ($32.36)

I assure you, reader, that I didn’t devise this article idea as a means of scoring a free dress shirt. I truly had no earthly expectation I would allocate the majority of my $50 budget to a piece of clothing at the airport’s PGA Tour Shop. Honestly, who could’ve known I’d encounter this tasteful button-up from Tricots St. Raphael that’s my exact style at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport? Not I!

It was marked down to $29.99 from its original $50 price. I simply couldn’t afford NOT to welcome this snazzy and breathable number into my wardrobe. And yeah, you can bet your behind I’ll be sporting this baby at the driving range and on the mini golf links this summer. As happy as I was to make this admittedly surprising purchase, it—$32.36 after tax—left me with merely $6.85 to spend.

Miller High Life magnet — Spirits of Wisconsin ($5.38)

Spirits of Wisconsin is a relative newcomer to the Main Terminal. It took the place of a Miller Brewing store, but still stocks an abundance of Molson Coors-related merchandise, as well as a range of spirits from Wisconsin distilleries (all priced over $50), regionally roasted coffee, glassware, bar snacks, and the like. Nearing the end of my financial solvency on this mission, I could only get something small from here.

I fought the urge to grab two Hamm’s stickers and text Matt “$55 limit instead?” and just opted for this classic Miller High Life refrigerator magnet instead. With a post-tax cost of $5.38 for the magnet, I had spent $48.53 and had only $1.47 left in my pocket. What could I possibly get at an international airport for less than $1.50? Read on and I’ll tell you!

Gravity Well (25¢)

As Matt dutifully wrote about in a previous Milwaukee Record article about the airport, MKE’s Main Terminal is home to a “Gravity Well.” Yes, that thing you used to plop nickels into at your local mall when you were a kid in the 1990s continues to live on in the center of a causeway at the airport.

I allocated one of our LLC’s quarters to the Gravity Well, watching as the coin rolled in increasingly tighter and faster circles before eventually falling into the reservoir to await being given to the airport’s nearby museum.

Museum donation — Mitchell Gallery of Flight ($1.22)

Speaking of said airport museum, I followed my Gravity Well experience by taking a few steps and entering the Mitchell Gallery Of Flight. The space honors prominent local figures in the field of aeronautics, including accomplishments in the realms of space travel, heroic acts of military pilots with Milwaukee ties, and other aspects of air travel. If you have time before a flight or while waiting to pick someone up, resist the urge of scrolling on Instagram and spend a few minutes checking out this unique educational airport amenity.

While it’s absolutely free to visit the Mitchell Gallery of Flight, the museum is supported through Gravity Well funds and private donations. You can either become a member for an annual fee or, do as I did to wipe out my remaining balance and thank the Gallery, and make a one-time donation online.

Total spent: $50
Money remaining: $0

MATT’S PURCHASES

**Paperback copy of Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury — Renaissance Books ($9.94)**

Ray Bradbury was the first author who introduced me to the idea of style. And boy oh boy did my man have style to spare—long, spiraling, impossibly lovely run-on sentences bursting with wild metaphors and enough sepia-toned Midwest mid-century nostalgia to make Normal Rockwell look like H.R. Giger. (A favorite line from The Halloween Tree: “The day Joe Pipkin was born all the Orange Crush and Nehi soda bottles in the world fizzed over; and joyful bees swarmed countrysides to sting maiden ladies.”) Dandelion Wine is a quintessential Bradbury novel, and a quintessential summer novel. I haven’t read it in years; thanks to Renaissance Books, I’m absolutely reading it this summer.

“Hold summer in your hand, pour summer in a glass, a tiny glass of course, the smallest tingling sip for children; change the season in your veins by raising glass to lip and tilting summer in.” Yep. buckle up for some purple-ass prose in the digital pages of ye olde Milwaukee Record this summer!

12 oz. bag of Up Nort’ coffee from Wisco Joe Coffee Co. — Spirits of Wisconsin ($21.99)

My family has a one-room fishing cabin in Dodge County, and one of the big upgrades I made to the place this year is a coffee maker. It’s actually kind of a big deal—if you know of anything better than sipping coffee while watching the morning mist slowly burn off a river, I’d love to hear it. Anyway, while the cabin is hardly “up nort’,” a bag of Up Nort’ coffee from Wisco Joe seemed like a good fit for it. (Other flavors include Cheese Farmer, Sipper Club, Badger Fuel, and Mooskie.)

Where does “up nort'” begin? It’s a Wisconsin debate as old as time. I say it’s a state of mind. Or a coffee flavor. Or both. I’ll get back to you on that.

Summerfest can koozie — Summerfest Marketplace ($6.48)

I have can koozies coming out of my ears these days, but something about this TSMGI Summerfest koozie—available in the Summerfest Marketplace, natch—spoke to me. Maybe it was the classic design. Maybe it was the inclusion of the “smiley face” logo. Or maybe it was the words “Independent Music Festival” on the top. Kind of odd, yeah?

I mean, Summerfest is an independent music festival (it’s mentioned several times in official press releases), but does anyone think of that when they think of Summerfest? I know I don’t. Just line the top of a Summerfest can koozie with drawings of picnic tables and Saz’s mozzarella sticks and be done with it.

Milwaukee Magazine Summer Guide — Summerfest Marketplace ($6.46)

I didn’t pick this up because I needed a summer guide (Milwaukee Record OBVIOUSLY has the ONLY summer guide you need), but because A.) Milwaukee Magazine is good, B.) they included me in a feature on “Milwaukee’s Most Influential Movers and Shakers” in 2025, and I owe them, and C.) earlier in the day when I was taping my bit for TMJ4’s What’s Brewing Wisconsin, Milwaukee Magazine publisher and editor-in-chief Carole Nicksin was on before me talking about polka, including local polka guy Mike Schneider, whom I’ve written about and who’s a friend of a friend. Small world!

Also, I totally forgot that MilMag covered the launch of Milwaukee Record way back in 2014. (“It’s been teased for weeks, and it’s finally here.”) Small world, indeed.

Snickers (Share Size) — MKE Street Side Market ($4.54)

I survived college on a steady diet of vending machine Snickers bars and mini bags of Doritos. Like, I combined them. I’d take a bite of the Snickers, then I’d shove some Doritos in my mouth. Lather, rinse, repeat. I don’t know. I was broke and dumb. I’m still broke and dumb, but at least I eat better these days. Though this Snickers bar from Mitchell’s MKE Street Side Market was pretty much the only thing I ate that day, so never mind.

Total spent: $49.41
Money remaining: 59¢ (It seemed weird to donate 59¢ to the Mitchell Gallery of Flight, so I’m saving this princely sum for laundry. I’ll get you next time, MGoF.)